Enable Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications

This article describes how to enable and configure OpenTelemetry-based data collection within Azure Monitor Application Insights using the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro. OpenTelemetry is the open-source CNCF observability standard; the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro is Microsoft's distribution of that standard, optimized for Azure Monitor. The distro:

Provides an OpenTelemetry distribution, which includes support for features specific to Azure Monitor.
Enables automatic telemetry collection by including OpenTelemetry instrumentation libraries for collecting traces, metrics, logs, and exceptions.
Allows collecting custom telemetry.
Supports Live Metrics to monitor and collect telemetry from live, in-production web applications.

For more information about the advantages of using the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro, see Why should I use the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro.

To learn more about collecting data using OpenTelemetry, check out the Application Insights overview or the OpenTelemetry FAQ.

Follow the steps in this article to install the distro, connect it to your Application Insights resource, and verify that telemetry data flows to Azure Monitor.

OpenTelemetry release status

OpenTelemetry offerings are available for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications. For a feature-by-feature release status, see the FAQ.

Note

For Azure Function Apps, see Use OpenTelemetry with Azure Functions.

Enable OpenTelemetry with Application Insights

Follow the steps in this section to instrument your application with OpenTelemetry. Select a tab for language-specific instructions.

The following table summarizes the packages and install commands for each supported language:

Language	Package	Install command
ASP.NET Core	`Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore`	`dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore`
.NET	`Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter`	`dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter`
Java	`applicationinsights-agent-3.7.8.jar`	Download from GitHub
Node.js	`@azure/monitor-opentelemetry`	`npm install @azure/monitor-opentelemetry`
Python	`azure-monitor-opentelemetry`	`pip install azure-monitor-opentelemetry`

Note

.NET covers multiple scenarios, including classic ASP.NET, console apps, Windows Forms (WinForms), and more.

Prerequisites

Azure subscription: Create an Azure subscription for free
Application Insights resource: Create an Application Insights resource

ASP.NET Core Application using an officially supported version of .NET

Tip

If you're migrating from older Application Insights SDKs, see our migration documentation.

Install the client library

Install the latest Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore NuGet package:

dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore

Install the latest Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter NuGet package:

dotnet add package Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.Exporter

Install the latest @azure/monitor-opentelemetry package:

npm install @azure/monitor-opentelemetry

The following packages are also used for some specific scenarios described later in this article:

npm install @opentelemetry/api
npm install @opentelemetry/sdk-metrics
npm install @opentelemetry/resources
npm install @opentelemetry/semantic-conventions
npm install @opentelemetry/sdk-trace-base

Install the latest azure-monitor-opentelemetry PyPI package:

pip install azure-monitor-opentelemetry

Modify your application

Import the Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore namespace, add OpenTelemetry, and configure it to use Azure Monitor in your program.cs class:

// Import the Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore namespace.
using Azure.Monitor.OpenTelemetry.AspNetCore;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add OpenTelemetry and configure it to use Azure Monitor.
builder.Services.AddOpenTelemetry().UseAzureMonitor();

var app = builder.Build();

app.Run();

Add the Azure Monitor Exporter to each OpenTelemetry signal in the program.cs class:

// Create a new tracer provider builder and add an Azure Monitor trace exporter to the tracer provider builder.
// It is important to keep the TracerProvider instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/trace#tracerprovider-management
var tracerProvider = Sdk.CreateTracerProviderBuilder()
    .AddAzureMonitorTraceExporter();

// Add an Azure Monitor metric exporter to the metrics provider builder.
// It is important to keep the MetricsProvider instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/metrics#meterprovider-management
var metricsProvider = Sdk.CreateMeterProviderBuilder()
    .AddAzureMonitorMetricExporter();

// Create a new logger factory.
// It is important to keep the LoggerFactory instance active throughout the process lifetime.
// See https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/tree/main/docs/logs#logger-management
var loggerFactory = LoggerFactory.Create(builder =>
{
    builder.AddOpenTelemetry(logging =>
    {
        logging.AddAzureMonitorLogExporter();
    });
});

Note

For more information, see the getting-started tutorial for OpenTelemetry .NET

Autoinstrumentation is enabled through configuration changes. No code changes are required.

Point the Java virtual machine (JVM) to the jar file by adding -javaagent:"path/to/applicationinsights-agent-3.7.8.jar" to your application's JVM args.

Note

Sampling is enabled by default at a rate of five requests per second, aiding in cost management. Telemetry data could be missing in scenarios exceeding this rate. For more information on modifying sampling configuration, see sampling overrides. If you're seeing unexpected charges or high costs in Application Insights, this guide can help. It covers common causes like high telemetry volume, data ingestion spikes, and misconfigured sampling. It's especially useful if you're troubleshooting issues related to cost spikes, telemetry volume, sampling not working, data caps, high ingestion, or unexpected billing. To get started, see Troubleshoot high data ingestion in Application Insights.

Tip

For scenario-specific guidance, see Get Started (Supplemental).

Tip

If you develop a Spring Boot application, you can optionally replace the JVM argument by a programmatic configuration. For more information, see Using Azure Monitor Application Insights with Spring Boot.

// Import the `useAzureMonitor()` function from the `@azure/monitor-opentelemetry` package.
const { useAzureMonitor } = require("@azure/monitor-opentelemetry");

// Call the `useAzureMonitor()` function to configure OpenTelemetry to use Azure Monitor.
useAzureMonitor();

import logging
# Import the `configure_azure_monitor()` function from the
# `azure.monitor.opentelemetry` package.
from azure.monitor.opentelemetry import configure_azure_monitor

# Configure OpenTelemetry to use Azure Monitor with the
# APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING environment variable.
configure_azure_monitor(
    logger_name="<your_logger_namespace>",  # Set the namespace for the logger in which you would like to collect telemetry for if you are collecting logging telemetry. This is imperative so you do not collect logging telemetry from the SDK itself.
)
logger = logging.getLogger("<your_logger_namespace>")  # Logging telemetry will be collected from logging calls made with this logger and all of it's children loggers.

Copy the connection string from your Application Insights resource

The connection string is unique and specifies where the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro sends the telemetry it collects.

Tip

If you don't already have an Application Insights resource, create one following this guide. We recommend you create a new resource rather than using an existing one.

To copy the connection string:

Go to the Overview pane of your Application Insights resource.
Find your connection string.
Hover over the connection string and select the Copy to clipboard icon.

Paste the connection string in your environment

To paste your connection string, use one of the following methods:

Method	Supported languages	Recommended for
Environment variable	All	Production
Configuration file (`applicationinsights.json`)	Java only	Production (Java)
Code	ASP.NET Core, Node.js, Python	Local dev/test only

Important

We recommend setting the connection string through code only in local development and test environments.

For production, use an environment variable or configuration file (Java only).

Set the Application Insights connection string as an environment variable (recommended for production)

Replace <Your connection string> in the following command with your connection string.
```
APPLICATIONINSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING=<Your connection string>
```
Set the Application Insights connection string in a configuration file - Java only

Create a configuration file named applicationinsights.json, and place it in the same directory as applicationinsights-agent-3.7.8.jar with the following content:
```
{
  "connectionString": "<Your connection string>"
}
```
Replace <Your connection string> in the preceding JSON with your unique connection string.
Set the Application Insights connection string in code - ASP.NET Core, Node.js, and Python only

See connection string configuration for an example of setting connection string via code.

Note

If you set the connection string in multiple places, it's resolved in the following precedence order (highest to lowest):

Code
Environment variable
Configuration file

Confirm data is flowing

After you configure the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro and set the connection string, run your application and open your Application Insights resource in the Azure portal to verify that traces, metrics, and logs appear. It might take a few minutes for data to show up.

Screenshot of the Application Insights Overview tab with server requests and server response time highlighted.

Application Insights is now enabled for your application. The following steps are optional and allow for further customization.

Note

As part of using Application Insights instrumentation, we collect and send diagnostic data to Microsoft. This data helps us run and improve Application Insights. Learn more in the Application Insights FAQ.

Important

If you have two or more services that emit telemetry to the same Application Insights resource, you're required to set Cloud Role Names to represent them properly on the Application Map.

Troubleshooting, feedback, and support

Tip

The following sections are available across all OpenTelemetry Distro articles.

Troubleshooting

For troubleshooting information, see Troubleshoot OpenTelemetry issues in .NET and Troubleshoot missing application telemetry in Azure Monitor Application Insights.

OpenTelemetry Feedback

To provide feedback:

Fill out the OpenTelemetry community's customer feedback survey.
Tell Microsoft about yourself by joining the OpenTelemetry Early Adopter Community.
Engage with other Azure Monitor users in the Microsoft Tech Community.
Make a feature request at the Azure Feedback Forum.

Support

Select a tab for the language of your choice to discover support options.

For Azure support issues, open an Azure support ticket.
For OpenTelemetry issues, contact the OpenTelemetry .NET community directly.
For a list of open issues related to Azure Monitor Exporter, see the GitHub Issues Page.

Next steps

To review the source code, see the Azure Monitor ASP.NET Core GitHub repository.
To review a sample application, see Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for ASP.NET Core.
To install the NuGet package, check for updates, or view release notes, see the Azure Monitor AspNetCore NuGet Package page.
To learn more about OpenTelemetry and its community, see the OpenTelemetry .NET GitHub repository.
To enable usage experiences, enable web or browser user monitoring.

To review the source code, see the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for JavaScript repository.
To review a sample application, see Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for Node.js.
To install the npm package and check for updates, see the @azure/monitor-opentelemetry npm Package page.
To learn more about OpenTelemetry and its community, see the OpenTelemetry JavaScript GitHub repository.
To enable usage experiences, enable web or browser user monitoring.

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Last updated on 2026-04-08

Enable Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry for .NET, Node.js, Python, and Java applications

OpenTelemetry release status

Enable OpenTelemetry with Application Insights

Prerequisites

Install the client library

Modify your application

Copy the connection string from your Application Insights resource

Paste the connection string in your environment

Confirm data is flowing

Troubleshooting, feedback, and support

Troubleshooting

OpenTelemetry Feedback

Support

Next steps

Feedback

Additional resources